Our particular vocation is such that we are associated in a special manner with the redemption of men; the Blessed Liguori has likewise put his Congregation under the protection of the Saviour.

In these short sentences we find the seed of the identity and self-understanding of Eugene and of all who live by his charism. As we follow Jesus, it is according the specific perception of his being our Saviour. Our particular vocation is to be associated with him in leading others to the salvation that He offers – thus to be his co-operators.

One Response to CO-OPERATORS OF THE SAVIOUR

Whenever I see or hear the the phrase “Cooperator of the Savior” the image that comes to mind is of the Cross, of Jesus on the Cross. The Cross!

It was not always a realised part of my life. There was my conversion and my return to the Church and I found myself praying usually before the Cross, but it was not an intentional or conscious act – I simply did it. However one day I found myself sitting before the cross, before Jesus on the cross. I was in a room that had a crucifix on the wall for sure but I was not near it. My eyes were closed as I talked with Jesus, more as I cried – I was suffering and had come to be with the only one who was big enough to take my pain and hold me, the one who spoke my name and who held me. I was looking at Jesus on the Cross, all the while being held by him and as I cried I looked up it appeared to be as if he was crying with me. Jesus on the cross, crying with me! As he hung on that cross, dying, he was aware of me and my suffering and cried with me. He knew my great pain as if it were his own and indeed somehow it was, and so he wept with me. This was not vision, it was not external or physical, but it was more real than my very body. I think the word might be it was intuited if indeed that word exists.

It was that day that I took my place at the foot of the cross, with the small secret hope that I one day I might be invited to join him on the cross. This wooden cross on which hung the Savior of the world, which was stark and brutal, it was death on so many levels, all the while being radiant and alive. I am a child of the resurrection and so it was/is both. The Cross – a symbol of stark death, of life to the fullest.

To be a Cooperator of the Savior. I give you my all, all that I do, all that I am, all that I may be.